Licensing Classes

CMARC is proud to offer various licensing classes for 2025! A General level licensing class is starting Saturday, February 22, 2025, from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. The class will run each Saturday for six to eight weeks. Class duration depends on how quickly students can cover the information presented. Please bring the required materials listed below for the class, or see our Lending Library.

Schedule:

General Class:

When: Starting February 22, 2025, 9:00 am – 11:00 am
Where: Mason Urgent Care, 800 E. Columbia St. Mason, Michigan 48854
Cost: None
Instructor: Tom Rocheleau
Materials: “The No-Nonsense General-Class License Study Guide”, by Dan Romanchik KB6NU
More Information: Contact the instructor, Tom Rocheleau

General Licensing Information:

There are three levels of amateur radio licenses, Technician, General, and Extra. Each level of amateur radio license requires passing a written exam. There is no age requirement for obtaining an amateur radio license. All levels of amateur radio exams are administered by Volunteer Examiners (VE’s). See VE Testing for more information on the exam process.

Knowledge of Morse code is NOT required to pass an amateur radio license exam.

The Technician license is the entry license into amateur radio. The Technician license is primarily aimed at Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) operation, although there is some High Frequency (HF) operation allowed.
The General license offers greater privileges than the Technician license, particularly greatly expanded High Frequency (HF) privileges. To take the exam for the General license requires holding a current Technician license or successfully passing a Technician license exam.
The Extra license offers all amateur radio privileges, including some frequencies limited to Extra licensees only. To take the exam for the Extra license requires holding a current General license or successfully passing both the Technician license and General license exams.

Manuals and Study Guides:

For the Technician license: “The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual 5th Edition”
For the General license: “The ARRL General Class License Manual 10th Edition”
For the Extra license: “The ARRL Extra Class License Manual 13th Edition”

If you cannot afford to purchase an ARRL license manual, you may be able to borrow a license manual from our lending library. Visit Lending Library for more information.

A possible alternative to the ARRL license manuals, are the “No-Nonsence Study Guides” by Dan Romanchik KB6NU. Dan’s Study Guides are a succinct summary of material needed to pass the various license exams. The “No-Nonsence Study Guides” are available in a variety of formats. Visit “No-Nonsense Study Guides” for more information.

For more information about licensing classes, or licensing and testing procedures, please contact an instructor above or club board member!